Hey Guys I contacted Nintendo about getting a license to make products with their likeness. They sent this letter back to me. I was kind of surprised by the third paragraph. ----------------------------- I appreciate your interest in Nintendo and all our video game products. To us, it represents a great sign of success and recognition of the Nintendo brand. We are grateful for all the requests we receive for permission to use Nintendo properties; however, we receive thousands of requests and do not have adequate staffing to review them all. Therefore, our general policy is to decline all such requests, no exceptions. I realize this isn’t what you wanted to hear and thank you for understanding. Although we are unable to grant permission, use of Nintendo properties without our formal permission may still be allowed depending on the circumstances. You are encouraged to seek your own legal counsel if you have any questions about whether your particular proposed use is permitted without Nintendo's authorization. This is not a comment on whether we believe your particular proposed use is permissible—Nintendo cannot provide legal advice. Sincerely, Nintendo of America Inc.
as is my understanding Nintendo finally pulled the stick out of their ass when it comes to fan games using their characters.
they finally realized that fan-made promotion can often be better than their own productions, it seems!
What they are saying for example is you can say things like "I love Nintendo" or "I made a handheld portable of a Nintendo N64" or whatever; however of course to use their branding would always lead to tears. It's a very general disclaimer of course but of course you'd be able to use their brand name, even logos if not making out a product that wasn't theirs was, or was an official product when was a fan product; however stating something, like first paragraph, is perfectly fine - in other words use you common sense. If you for example made products similar in likeness to Nintendo products or clearly was similar to the viewer, then expect a massive ass kick and trouble with their lawyers, as impersonation of their brand would either be seen as profits resulting from their copyrights or piss taking their franchises; either way expect a shit load of repercussions. Nintendo lawyers are not people to mess with.
They tolerated free clone games, like Mario and Zelda fan-made games, for a long time. As long as it's clear that it's not an official product and that it's free, I don't think you'd be in trouble.
Where does this belief of "If I don't sell it it's not illegal" come from? It doesn't matter if you charge or not, copyright infringement is copyright infringement.
Nobody said it was legal, it's just less blatantly illegal and won't attract too much legal attention. If you're making them free publicity, they're less inclined to sue you. It you're making money out of it, you're getting a subpoena.
Indeed, there are two questions when it comes to copyright - 1) does it infringe copyright, 2) are you liable to be sued for it? Using an image or logo or whatever that leads the reader to believe it represents something that is copyrighted, probably means it is copyrighted. If however someone isn't making money from it, and it doesn't deprive the copyright owners of revenue, they are unlikely to proceed a legal case as they have little motivation. To put some examples together: You copy a DVD for your own use only, yes it is infringing copyright and illegal however unless you give copies to your mates or sell copies to others you are unlikely to ever get sued. If you sell them for profit then expect to be sued as you're making profit from the copyrighter, who is as a result potentially losing revenue. An example also could be a recent HD version of Super Mario 64 - as soon as the first level was on the net, Nintendo issued legal threats and the programmer had to remove it - it was a free however of course Super Mario is a major earner for Nintendo, and they may make another version of SM64, who knows = lawsuit.
To add to what FG said, they're way less likely to exhaust time, money and resources on somebody committing copyright infringement without making money from said infringement. While it is technically still illegal, there's way less of an incentive for the copyright-owning entity to seek any legal action. Companies choose their battles. Maybe me commenting "Copyright Infringement 101" made it appear as though I wasn't aware of the legality.
I see this a lot with people making Mario/Zelda fan games, there seems to be some confusion that as long as they don't charge for the software, it means Nintendo won't go after them. It's about as true as saying "The cops won't go after me if I just give away crack instead of charging money for it". It looks to me that Nintendo are still protecting their IP just as much as they have done in the past. Remember this is the company that introduced console DRM before anyone else (10-NES): http://time.com/3765568/super-mario-64-nintendo-take-down/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...ir-bad-youtube-policies-by-making-them-worse/ The second part of the email just reads as a standard disclaimer and may as well read as: "This does not affect your statutory rights"
You also have the issue of fame. If you make a website that goes viral pirating Mario, then you've reached a level of fame that makes them notice. That also gives them a very large audience who will see them go after you, setting an example that reaches everyone with minimal effort. What I'm wondering is in what way can I use their IP when they write, "Although we are unable to grant permission, use of Nintendo properties without our formal permission may still be allowed depending on the circumstances." For example?
It isn't a reason to boycott Nintendo; their core business has at its backbone franchises like Mario and Zelda so it is only right and logical for them to protect their interests especially with their core business. They make consoles sure, however profit on consoles is always minimal as they want people to buy the games, which of course have massive profit margins. Reasons for boycotting companies are those that restrict you to logging your financial details onto their servers, which can get hacked, make you pay for software that only works on one console, the game is non transferable and unsaleable; and charge a lot for their games. That is why I have no interest in Sony or Microsoft consoles, past original Xbox or PS2. If I buy a console I don't want it to be permanently connected to the internet, have my details hackable, be forced to pay top price for older games, dictated to as to how I can install them, and also if a console breaks, I don't want to pay again for something I already did. Big turn-off. Fortunately, I love retro games and systems!
There's certain 'fair use' principles that can apply depending on where in the world you live. Parody is normally one exception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#Fair_use_in_particular_areas
